A worker places programs on seats at the Georgia Dome amid preparations for the NFC Championship Game in Atlanta.

Photo: Carlos Avila Gonzalez, The Chronicle

A worker places programs on seats at the Georgia Dome amid...

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Darius Fleming, a 49ers linebacker on the physically unable to perform list all year, signs helmets for fans at the team hotel.

Photo: Carlos Avila Gonzalez, The Chronicle

Darius Fleming, a 49ers linebacker on the physically unable to...

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Vince Cuviello wires cameras to the goal posts for Fox Sports on Saturday as stadium crews, players and fans prepare for the NFC Championship game in Atlanta, Ga., on Saturday, January 19, 2013.

Photo: Carlos Avila Gonzalez, The Chronicle

Vince Cuviello wires cameras to the goal posts for Fox Sports on...

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Hoping for his favorite players to come by, 49ers fan John Backman from Maine, wearing his 49ers shoes, waits outside the 49ers team hotel in downtown Atlanta on Saturday as stadium crews, players and fans prepare for the NFC Championship game in Atlanta, Ga., on Saturday, January 19, 2013.

Photo: Carlos Avila Gonzalez, The Chronicle

Hoping for his favorite players to come by, 49ers fan John Backman...

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John Backman from Maine waits outside the 49ers team hotel for autographs on Saturday, as stadium crews, players and fans prepare for the NFC Championship game in Atlanta, Ga., on Saturday, January 19, 2013.

The 49ers arrived here late Friday, heavy favorites despite taking on the NFC's top seed on the road.

Many observers think their path to the Super Bowl is clear-cut. But the 49ers brought a potential problem on the plane with them.

While the team was en route to Georgia, the news broke that Michael Crabtree was questioned by San Francisco police about a sexual assault that allegedly occurred in a San Francisco hotel sometime early last Sunday after the 49ers' game against the Green Bay Packers. General manager Trent Baalke said that the team was aware of the allegation and that Crabtree had fully cooperated with the authorities.

While the most important thing is making sure that justice prevails, there's also a football side to the development. The 49ers have not directly said Crabtree will play Sunday, though it seems likely since the investigation is ongoing. It's impossible to predict how the 49ers and Crabtree will be affected by the news. The young player is the most important receiver on the team and Colin Kaepernick's security blanket. He is vital to the team's success. And Saturday his face was plastered all over the television for all the wrong reasons.

The Falcons could tell the 49ers something about such a situation. The last time the Falcons went this deep in the playoffs, it wasn't pretty. Atlanta beat the 49ers in the divisional playoff, then went on to beat the Minnesota Vikings in overtime to make it to Super Bowl XXXIII in Miami. The night before the game, safety Eugene Robinson - just a few hours after accepting the Bart Starr Award for "high moral character" - was arrested for solicitation of a prostitute. He was released the morning of the game and allowed to play, but the Falcons were hammered by John Elway's Broncos, losing 34-19. The lopsided loss might have happened anyway - the Falcons were the inferior team - but the pregame distraction clearly rattled them.

That was one painful memory in a litany of them for Falcons fans, part of the reason that fans here tend to hold the team at arm's length.

One of the first things Atlantans themselves will tell you when you arrive in their town is, "We're a lousy sports town." They're well aware of the reputation. And that's not going to change with a trip to the NFC Championship Game.

The Falcons are getting little respect: not from the national media and not from the bookmakers who have made them the biggest No. 1 seed underdog in history.

"Until you prove that the culture has changed, then you get treated like that," Randy Cross said in a radio interview.

The culture may be changing. The bandwagon is full. Owner Arthur Blank is trying to leverage the moment to get $300 million in public funds to go toward a new billion-dollar retractable-roof stadium to replace the 20-year-old Georgia Dome. Passionate fan Samuel L. Jackson, who gives profane shout-outs to the team on Twitter, is featured in a pregame video at the Georgia Dome asking fans to "Rise Up." There was a "Rise Up Atlanta" pep rally in Marietta on Friday night, complete with cheerleaders and marching bands.

"Oh everyone's into the Falcons right now," said Liz, a woman hanging out Friday in a restaurant in the trendy Grant Park neighborhood. But a minute later, being more honest, she confessed, "Really, I couldn't care less about the Falcons."

On local TV, the anchors - wearing Falcons jerseys and hats - bragged about how loud the Georgia Dome was last weekend: a new record of 113 decibels was set against the Seahawks. Of course, that was in the first half. As anyone watching knows, the place grew deathly silent in the second half as the Seahawks rallied back.

That lived up to Atlanta's reputation: It's not hard to take the fans out of the game.

As my pal Jeff Schultz points out, Atlanta fans don't have deep roots. The metro area of Atlanta has doubled in size in the last two decades, so many people in the team's base come from somewhere else.

There's also not a long history of success to sustain the fan base. The Falcons are one of 14 teams never to have won a Super Bowl. And their followers have been burned in the past. There was the Robinson problem at the Super Bowl. Two years later, the Falcons drafted Michael Vick, who was supposed to be the team's savior. He led the Falcons to the playoffs in 2002 and 2004, losing to the Philadelphia Eagles in the divisional round both times. But in 2007 Vick was suspended for dogfighting and went to prison. It was a gut-punch to the organization.

A year later, the Falcons hired head coach Mike Smith and drafted Matt Ryan to replace Vick. The team immediately started to have success and has kept it going: The Falcons have won 56 games in the last five regular seasons. But the team hasn't had playoff success, and the Georgia Dome hasn't been a particularly intimidating environment.

And it's not just the Falcons who have trouble sustaining enthusiasm. The Braves can't sell out playoff games, and fans only seem interested when they get a chance to do the Tomahawk Chop.

"Maybe after 15 years of division championships, they just got tired," said 49ers fullback Bruce Miller, who grew up outside of Atlanta, raising his hand to do the chop.

Miller knows about his town's reputation.

"But I was an Atlanta sports fan, and I thought I was awesome," he said. "I think that place is going to be electric on Sunday."

Still, 24 hours before kickoff, there were about 5,400 tickets available online for the game.